Following the Mavericks' Game 4 loss, Dirk Nowitzki was asked about the confidence level of the team facing a 3-1 deficit.  

"Look in the locker room right now," Nowitzki said. "Everyone is very disappointed. Obviously, we just lost a tough, tough game.

"All we can do is come out swinging. We know this team won't give up. We have a lot of pride, a lot of heart.

"Come out swinging. That's the only thing we've got."

Baron Davis bedeviled the Mavericks one more time -- and now his crazy, carefree Warriors are one win away from a historic playoff upset.

Davis had five of his 33 points and two key assists in the final 3 1/2 minutes, and the Warriors roared from behind for a 103-99 victory Sunday night to take a 3-1 lead over the NBA's best team in their first-round playoff series.

The Mavericks have trailed after one quarter in all three games of the first round series against Golden State. Their average deficit is just under six points. In a series that's all about holes, that's another one they haven't been able to climb out of in two of the three games.

"I expect a lot from this team," Johnson said after Saturday's practice. "I take full responsibility because it's my job. When something goes wrong, it's definitely all my fault. I got to do a better job of preparing them to play in these games."

The Warriors put on a show that was well worth their fans' 13-year wait.

Jason Richardson had 30 points and eight rebounds, Baron Davis added 24 points and the Warriors steamrolled the Mavericks for the second time in three games, winning 109-91 Friday night to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round playoff series.

The Bay Area's first playoff game since May 4, 1994, was a success for the eighth-seeded Warriors, whose faithful fans endured 12 straight losing seasons before coach Don Nelson got them back to the playoffs.

And after dominating both ends of the court in another improbably comfortable win over the mighty Mavericks, the Warriors are halfway to what probably would be the biggest first-round upset in playoff history.

The Mavericks finally discovered that beating the Warriors isn't as hard as they had made it look.

And it's even easier when Baron Davis and Stephen Jackson lose their cool.

Jason Terry scored 28 points, Dirk Nowitzki had 23 and Josh Howard led a 15-2 run in the third quarter that sent the Mavericks to a 112-99 victory over the Warriors in Game 2 on Wednesday night, evening their first-round series.

In a release sent to RealGM.com, NBA general managers picked the Dallas Mavericks Dirk Nowitzki to win his first NBA Most Valuable Player Award, edging out former teammate and reigning two-time MVP Steve Nash of the Phoenix Suns, according to respondents of the 2007 NBA.com GM Awards Survey.    

In the exclusive survey of NBA GMs, Nowitzki received 17 first-place votes and 8 second-place votes for a total of 109 points.  Nash finished second in the voting with 82 points and the Los Angeles Lakers Kobe Bryant finished third with 21 points.  Five points were awarded for first-place votes, three for second-place and one for third-place.

NBA GMs predicted that Brandon Roy of the Portland Trail Blazers would win the NBA Rookie of the Year Award.  Roy received 23 first-place votes and two second-place votes for a total of 121 points.  The Toronto Raptors Andrea Bargnani finished second with 61 points and the Minnesota Timberwolves Randy Foye finished third with 10 points.  

Additional results of the 2007 NBA.com GM Awards Survey include:

? Marcus Camby, Denver Nuggets - Defensive Player of the Year
? Leandro Barbosa, Phoenix Suns - Sixth Man Award
? Kevin Martin, Sacramento Kings - Most Improved Player Award
? Avery Johnson, Dallas Mavericks - Coach of the Year
? Bryan Colangelo, Toronto Raptors - Executive of the Year

All signs point to Raptor coach Sam Mitchell being named the league's coach of the year for 2006-07 and being honored before Game 2 of Toronto's Eastern Conference playoff series against the New Jersey Nets, the Toronto Star writes.

The league announced last night it would announce the coach of the year winner tomorrow and the league likes to allow the various winners their moment in the sun in front of a home crowd.

In a straw poll of writers and broadcasters who vote on the award, Mitchell had a slight edge on Utah's Jerry Sloan and Avery Johnson of the Dallas Mavericks.

In the past, the league has made sure the winner of any significant post-season award has been honored before his team plays.

Neither the Jazz nor the Mavericks play tomorrow night.

The Warriors' Baron Davis scored 19 of his 33 points in the third quarter, carrying Nellie's small-ball lineup to a 97-85 victory over the Mavericks in Game 1 of their Western Conference series Sunday night.

An eighth seed beating a top seed, especially one that won 67 regular-season games, normally would be a stunner. But this was Golden State's sixth straight win over Dallas; the Warriors are 4-0 against the Mavs since Nelson joined the bench this season.

he Golden State Warriors have waited nearly 13 years to get back in the playoffs ? and despite yet another win, they must wait one last night.

Mickael Pietrus scored 22 points, Matt Barnes had 19 and the Warriors moved to the brink of their first postseason berth since 1994 with a 111-82 victory over the Dallas Mavericks Tuesday night.

Dallas kept Dirk Nowitzki, Josh Howard, Jerry Stackhouse and Erick Dampier out of a meaningless game ? for them ? in preparation for the postseason. The Warriors took a 28-point lead in the first half as they roared to their fifth straight win over the Mavericks, sweeping the three-game season series from the NBA's best team, which also is their potential first-round playoff opponent.

The Warriors have waited nearly 13 years to get back in the playoffs -- and despite yet another win, they must wait one last night.

Mickael Pietrus scored 22 points, Matt Barnes had 19 and the Warriors moved to the brink of their first postseason berth since 1994 with a 111-82 victory over the Mavericks' junior varsity Tuesday night.